17. Under the Influence(r)

Hey! Let’s unbox this new phone! And this new thumb drive! And this multi-million dollar SaaS platform…

🤳 //

Chris Sean isn’t your typical tech influencer. He was homeless and looking for a way to change his life when a YouTube video about Bill Gates convinced him he didn’t need a degree to get into tech. Now, Chris vlogs about his life and career as a self-taught developer to help others like him find their way into the industry. For Chris, creating content is more than a way to make money: it's a mission; it's a vindication.

In this episode of Traceroute, we peek behind the curtain of the exploding influencer marketing industry to understand who’s telling us how to feel about technology and why. We talk to Peter Kennedy, founder of influencer marketing SaaS technology platform Tagger Media, who discusses why tech workers make especially good influencers. We then go in-depth with co-hosts Grace and Fen, whose personal experience as Developer Advocate and Tech Evangelist reveals the greater truth behind this $250 billion industry: exactly who is influencing who?

Additional Resources

• Episode transcript available here.
• Connect with Grace Ewura-Esai: LinkedIn or Twitter.
• Connect with Fen Aldrich on Twitter.
• Connect with John Taylor on LinkedIn.
• Chris Sean on YouTube
• Connect with Peter Kennedy on LinkedIn

Traceroute is a podcast from Equinix and Stories Bureau. This episode was hosted by Amy Tobey and Fen Aldrich, and was produced by John Taylor with help from Sadie Scott. Our senior producer is Mathr de Leon. It was edited by Joshua Ramsey with mixing and sound design by Brett Vanderlaan and additional mixing by Jeremy Tuttle. Our fact-checker is Ena Alvarado. Our staff includes Tim Balint, Suzie Falk, Lisa Harris, Alisa Manjarrez, Stephen Staver, Lixandra Urresta, and Rebecca Woodward. Our theme song was composed by Ty Gibbons.